NEW ORLEANS -- Thousands of New Orleanians recently rang in the New Year -- the Lunar or Chinese New Year, that is.
For the thousands of Vietnamese Americans in the New Orleans metro area, 2015 has special meaning. It marks 40 years since the end of the Vietnam War. Four decades since many of them escaped Southeast Asia to settle here in Southeast Louisiana.
More than 58,000 U.S. troops were killed in Vietnam. 885 were from Louisiana. For those who survived the war, that time continues to shape their lives.
In New Orleans East, the sound of firecrackers ripped through a chilly winter evening. It's a celebration carried on for centuries, and one carried over from Vietnam.
The Tet festival, with its dragon dance and fireworks, happens every year at Mary Queen of Vietnam Church. But this year marks a milestone for many Vietnamese immigrants as they remember when they first made their journey to America.
"I remember being on my father's back," said Cyndi Nguyen, a first generation Vietnamese immigrant.
"I was 18 years old," said Hoang Linh, also a Vietnamese immigrant.
"I remember hearing helicopters at night," said Lang Le.
Le, Hoang Linh and Cyndi Nguyen were among the initial wave of refugees who escaped Vietnam after April 30, 1975, the day the Communist North Vietnamese Army seized control of the South Vietnamese capitol of Saigon.
After almost 20 years of involvement, the U.S. pulled its forces out of Vietnam.
"I thought and still think the United States bailed out on them," said Louis Hoerner.
"It was disappointing because we were doing well over there and I think could have succeeded given a little more time," said George Villanueva.
Louis Hoerner and George Villanueva served in the Army's First Infantry and Cavalry divisions respectively. Both were wounded during their tours in Vietnam. Villanueva suffered multiple injuries after the personnel carrier he was riding hit a land mine.
"I was sitting where the mine was and it blew me over, off the side of the thing. It fractured my skull and my back and blew ear drum out, among other things," said Villanueva.
Both Villanueva and Hoerner received the Purple Heart for their service. But Hoerner said when he came back to New Orleans, there was no hero's welcome.
"We were drafted, we did our jobs. I wasn't a "rah-rah" guy. I got drafted and went and did my duty, came home and basically got disrespected," said Hoerner.
Hoerner said what kept him going during his deployment was the thought of coming home to his pregnant wife. He has an old photo from that time. It shows a younger Hoerner with his wife this in 1967, at what was then the Moisant Airport.
"It made me focus more on the reality of family life and the value of family. Without family, I wouldn't have made it there," said Hoerner.
The same could be said for Cyndi Nguyen's transition from Southeast Asia to Southeast Louisiana. She said she owes a lot to her father.
"At the time, there was five of us already, and as a man he had to take care of his family. So New Orleans provided that opportunity for him," said Nguyen.
The Gulf Coast presented opportunity provided jobs for the thousands of immigrating Vietnamese shrimpers and fishermen. New Orleans climate was also more hospitable than other parts of the United States.
"The weather in New Orleans is very close to the weather in Vietnam," said Hoang Linh.
With tropical temperatures and close proximity to rivers, canals and bayous, Louisiana's coastal communities weren't far off from South Vietnam's Mekong Delta region.
"We adopted New Orleans as our second home. As far as the weather, the food and the people, we fell in love with it," said Linh.
Hoang Linh also fell in love with his wife in New Orleans. Culturally, they may have been newcomers. But looking at pictures of Linh in New Orleans in the late '70s, he and his wife could have been any young couple in America at that time.
In one photo Linh and his lady are in City Park laying on his first car, a Ford Maverick.
"After 40 years, this is my home," said Linh.
In the 40 since years since the fall of Saigon, the New Orleans metro area has become home to more than 15,000 Vietnamese Americans. That puts the New Orleans metro area among the top 25 in the country in terms of that population.
Drive along sections of New Orleans East or the West Bank and you'll see the Vietnamese influence on the architecture, businesses and, of course, cuisine. New Orleans is one of the unique places where "banh mi" and Vietnamese po boy are interchangeable.
"We have contributed to the culture, the education. In the medical field you see doctors, you see all professionals that are out there, that are Vietnamese American now. So we have a brought a lot and vice versa too," said Lang Le.
"They're an important part of New Orleans culture, and especially when they manifest themselves to the New Orleans community like this, it's great. They're hard working people," said Louis Hoerner.
When the Vietnamese refugees came here to New Orleans, they brought with them their culture, but also their faith.
The story of Mary Queen of Vietnam church is similar to its people. It had humble beginnings. It actually started in the laundry room of the Versailles Arms apartment complex. Today, it's grown to a parish of more than 5,500 members.
At a time when the Catholic Church is working to retain parishioners, Mary Queen of Vietnam has been a steady pillar in the New Orleans East community, whether through mass migrations or massive hardship in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
For all of that, it was given the privilege to house these special relics, the remains of the founding members of the Catholic Church in Vietnam.
"Thank God for Mary Queen of Vietnam Parish. That really is the foundation for the families," said Cyndi Nguyen.
So it seems fitting that the church is where the Tet celebration takes place this year. It's a time for festivity, but also reflection, of a war that forever changed lives.
I think it makes you more resilient. You know you realize how things are especially in foreign countries, with people dying and people getting killed. It makes you realize what a great country we have here," said George Villanueva.
"I always reflect back and wish things could've been different, but then on the other side the past 40 years living in America has been the best of my life," said Cyndi Nguyen.
